I just got my 2020 Ford Explorer ST back from a week at the dealership because of the bluish, oily smelling smoke upon cold startup. I don't park on an incline and I am in Louisiana so cold is certainly not a factor for me. The dealership did see the smoke I brought it in for but they claimed that their technician sent a video to a "Ford engineer" and they said it is normal to have smoke on cold start and it is just excess fuel being burnt off on start up. That it isn't detrimental to the engine so no repairs were needed. Isn't smoke from fuel white? This is definitely blue/gray and smells like oil. It doesn't smell anything like fuel. I asked for the video that the tech provided but I was told it was uploaded into Ford's system and wasn't available (even though he recorded it with his cell phone). When I asked for the "Ford engineer's" name, I was told they didn't have one. I felt a little like I got the same BS answers everyone else is getting. This is my third Explorer and I have never had this issue so it's a little hard to believe it is simply normal. OH...almost forgot, they also said it may be from the replacement of the catalytic converter from one of recalls which was replaced at the end of June. I am just so worried this thing will leave me on the side of the road...and it's way too hot in Louisiana right now for all that!
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Smoking on startup after sitting
- Thread starter 4yers
- Start date
I have been trying to get the dealership to diagnose this same issue for a few months now and after two and a half weeks of diagnosing this is the answer I got from the shop foreman.
Since we chatted we have brought the unit back in. Ford wanted us to remove the spark plugs again, to let the unit sit over night and borescope all the cylinders, and look for oil presence in the cylinder or on the valves as we rotated the engine. We could not find any oil leaking into the cylinders. They asked us if the engine was loosing any oil during services, and it’s not. They also asked us to find several units to compare to each other on start up. Due to the style of engine that your explorer has, it has a direct injection system rather then a port injection. This causes smoking on cold starts, and even with warm start ups, just not as noticeable. We have had 2 other units at work in the last couple of days and we set them all up to cold start them. Each unit had smoke emitting from the exhaust upon cold start. We drove each unit the same way so we could compare them equally on start up. I will attach a video of one of the other units for your reference.
He did send me a video of a different ST and it was belching that exhaust. No other vehicle that I know of does this. In previous emails he said they narrowed this extra exhaust down to the drivers side. So logically it would also do it on the other side if it’s normal and it would do it from day one upon vehicle delivery. So I’m not buying it that this is normal. I have been reading this forum thread and have told them to check out the exhaust side of that turbo and they completely ignore me. I mean it is an exhaust issue so you would go along the exhaust from the back end forward and inspect all the parts along the way. That’s what a guy would logically do. But ford engineers didn’t want to do that. They just wanted to start at the block and do a bunch of useless garbage there and say yup this is normal. The only other thing I can think of is because it’s direct injection and there is oil fuel dilution and somehow that is causing the issue. So I asked for an oil change to see if that would help. As for the other customer STs I don’t know why they don’t see it as an issue. Either they don’t know any better or just don’t care. My friends ‘21 ST doesn’t do it, but if it was normal his would too. I feel like I am being given the runaround and either Ford has no idea what the problem is or they do and they just do not want to repair this item especially seen as how it must affect a lot of vehicles. So I’m just going to give another dealership a shot and pull all my business from the one I was at. Also Ford customer relations told me to F off too. So they are of no help.
Since we chatted we have brought the unit back in. Ford wanted us to remove the spark plugs again, to let the unit sit over night and borescope all the cylinders, and look for oil presence in the cylinder or on the valves as we rotated the engine. We could not find any oil leaking into the cylinders. They asked us if the engine was loosing any oil during services, and it’s not. They also asked us to find several units to compare to each other on start up. Due to the style of engine that your explorer has, it has a direct injection system rather then a port injection. This causes smoking on cold starts, and even with warm start ups, just not as noticeable. We have had 2 other units at work in the last couple of days and we set them all up to cold start them. Each unit had smoke emitting from the exhaust upon cold start. We drove each unit the same way so we could compare them equally on start up. I will attach a video of one of the other units for your reference.
So at this point Ford has said that since we have tested several like units and they all have the same amount of smoke emitting from the exhaust, that this is a normal characteristic for this type of engine. Since it does not run rough, lack power or burn any oil Ford has stated that there is nothing that can been done at this time, and again this is a normal characteristic.
I know this is not the response you were hoping for. If you have further questions please feel free to contact myself, or you can contact Ford Customer relations.
He did send me a video of a different ST and it was belching that exhaust. No other vehicle that I know of does this. In previous emails he said they narrowed this extra exhaust down to the drivers side. So logically it would also do it on the other side if it’s normal and it would do it from day one upon vehicle delivery. So I’m not buying it that this is normal. I have been reading this forum thread and have told them to check out the exhaust side of that turbo and they completely ignore me. I mean it is an exhaust issue so you would go along the exhaust from the back end forward and inspect all the parts along the way. That’s what a guy would logically do. But ford engineers didn’t want to do that. They just wanted to start at the block and do a bunch of useless garbage there and say yup this is normal. The only other thing I can think of is because it’s direct injection and there is oil fuel dilution and somehow that is causing the issue. So I asked for an oil change to see if that would help. As for the other customer STs I don’t know why they don’t see it as an issue. Either they don’t know any better or just don’t care. My friends ‘21 ST doesn’t do it, but if it was normal his would too. I feel like I am being given the runaround and either Ford has no idea what the problem is or they do and they just do not want to repair this item especially seen as how it must affect a lot of vehicles. So I’m just going to give another dealership a shot and pull all my business from the one I was at. Also Ford customer relations told me to F off too. So they are of no help.
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My 2022 ST also now has the problem, just started 2 days ago after sitting in an airport garage for a week while I was vacationing in Utah. Only happens after the ST sits overnight and starts for the first time. Took it to my local Ford Dealer and scheduled to drop off next Sunday to sit over night and will be diagnosed the next day. Manager appreciated me sharing insights from these forums but declared his highly skilled engineer will properly diagnose the problem. Sounded like me when people complain about software support.
Attachments
I have a 2022 ST that has 15K miles. I noticed the smoke at start-up recently and started following the forum. I used the remote start and got several videos of the smoke. The first dealership said it was an excess moister at the beginning. Even though you can see the blue smoke. I took it to a second dealership, and the mechanic watched the video and agreed it had smoke in it. He said during diagnosis, there were no errors and nothing on the Ford site for issues. He said he put the engine through heavy RPM and could hear the turbo "struggling" or making an unusual noise. He then went to the air filter and said that it was one of the dirtiest ones he had seen. He put a new one in and took it for a drive to simulate a normal day drive. Brought it back and put the engine through heavy RPM, and the noise was gone. No smoke after start-up so far. Fingers crossed this was the issue.
Funny you should say that I left my ST in the garage overnight yesterday and this morning it DID NOT smoke. I don't want to speculate my car has been siting on the driveway last week while I was installing ceiling racks inside my garage, and my driveway has a bit of an incline. Someone else on these posts mentioned smoking only when on an incline, i'd hate to think parking incline would be a concern but more testing. Im still scheduled to drop my car off for sunday night
Currently working on one at the moment. I removed the cats to inspect the turbos and found both sides are leaking into the exhaust. Oil leaking into exhaust from the turbo seals. Of course the workshop manual has you do an oil consumption test first and remove the cac tubes for oil buildup and remove the plugs to inspect the valve guides if oil consumption is a concern.
I have a 2021 Ford Explorer ST and have been experiencing smoke on the startup too. I took it to my dealer over a week ago and they recently sent me a video of the technician (1 year experience listed by his name). The tech walked around my car and explained that everything is fine and it is a normal thing. I was waiting for a replacement cup holder that the service guy was supposed to order in and didn't so I left it for another day. In our conversation he mentioned the tech said it could be the catalytic converter causing the problem but since it isn't throwing a code they can't do anything. I figure since they don't have any sensors for burning oil, it never will. Waiting to hear back today so I can talk to them further about it. I have worked with Ford on an earlier issue so I may have to go back to them for assistance.
I know this is an older thread, but does anyone have any answers to what the cause and solution was? I am currently having the same issue and my driveway has an incline. When backed in, there is no smoke. Straight in, there is smoke. Every morning. There is also, what appears to be black soot residue on the driveway where you would think its an oil leak, but it is not.
THE BLACK SOOT I WOULDNT WORRY ABOUT BUT IF ITS LIKE A HEAVY BLUE SMOKE THAT LINGERS I WOULD DEFFINENTLY TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER. MORE THEN LIKELY ITLL GET NEW TURBOS. MINE WAS TURBOS THAT I WORKED ON THEY MAY HAVE YOU DO A OIL CONSUMPTION TEST TO RULE THE ENGINE OUT BUT I WOULD LEAN MORE TOWARDS THE TURBOS LEAKING INTERNALLY INTO THE EXHAUST CAUSING THE SMOKE
I first saw the smoke in our ST more than a year ago. I finally got the car into the dealer for all the recalls and some other stuff that has gone wrong under warranty. They have had the car a week. So far they haven't been able to replicate the issue. The service advisor told me that the EcoBoost engines normally smoke. That makes me laugh. Oil smoke smells like oil smoke.
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